Earth Collections: Permian database

The Permian Period extended from 290-250 million years ago. Rocks and fossils of Permian age are relatively uncommon in the British Isles, and this is reflected in our holdings.

Most of our UK specimens are from the Magnesian Limestone of northern England, while our foreign collections include material from Europe, Africa, the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent, North and South America, and Australia.

The most notable Permian work represented in the collections is that of J. A. Douglas, published between 1914 and 1950. His material includes foraminiferan, coral, bryozoan and brachiopod specimens, from the Iran-Baluchistan and Peru-Bolivia regions.

Also of interest are the so-called mammal-like reptiles from South Africa, described in papers by C. B. Cox, I. B. J. and W. J. Sollas, and others.